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Calley Apologizes for My Lai Massacre

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 22, 2009 6:20 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Forty years after the infamous My Lai massacre came to light, the former Army officer who led the raid has for the first time spoken publicly about his actions. William Calley, who ordered his soldiers to gun down hundreds of civilians in the Vietnamese village of My Lai in 1968, said Wednesday that he feels remorse every day for what happened there, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports.

His voice breaking, Calley told a Columbus, Ohio, Kiwanis Club audience, "I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry." The Army initially denied, then downplayed My Lai until a journalist exposed the massacre in 1969. Calley, who claimed to be following orders to leave no one alive in the village, was court-martialed and convicted of 22 counts of murder. His life sentence was later reduced, and he settled in Columbus, where he worked in his father-in-law's jewelry store, until a recent move to Atlanta.

In this April 23, 1971 photo, Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., is seen during his court-martial at Ft. Benning, Ga..
In this April 23, 1971 photo, Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., is seen during his court-martial at Ft. Benning, Ga..   (AP Photo/Joe Holloway, Jr.)
This undated photo released by the Museum of Modern Art shows the November 1970 cover of Esquire Magazine, which shows William Calley surrounded by four Vietnamese children.
This undated photo released by the Museum of Modern Art shows the November 1970 cover of Esquire Magazine, which shows William Calley surrounded by four Vietnamese children.   (AP Photo/Museum of Modern Art)
In this Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Former Army Lt. William Calley poses at the Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Ga. where he spoke publicly for the first time about the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam.
In this Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Former Army Lt. William Calley poses at the Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Ga. where he spoke publicly for the first time about the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam.   (AP Photo/The Ledger-Enquirer)
In this Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Former Army Lt. William Calley speaks to a Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Ga. where he spoke publicly for the first time about the infamous My Lai massacre.
In this Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Former Army Lt. William Calley speaks to a Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Ga. where he spoke publicly for the first time about the infamous My Lai massacre.   (AP Photo/The Ledger-Enquirer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
Robert_Dada
Aug 22, 2009 7:59 AM CDT
Banal as usual ClearSight
Rembrandt_Q_Einstein
Aug 22, 2009 7:04 AM CDT
@Clearsight as soon as i get done with yours. Why should I feel sorry for this shitbag who killed women and children? Just because he apologized 30+ yrs. later? He and McNamara can rot for all I'm concerned. The "I was only following orders" defense didn't work at Nuremburg and it shouldn't work w/ this ass either. He should still be in prison or six feet under.
AnnieChrist
Aug 22, 2009 6:53 AM CDT
Where were you in 1968? Were you ever in combat? I am as shamed by the atrocities at Miy Lai as almost all Americans, but I cannot help but feel that "but for the grace of god," I could be William Calley, but I was more fortunate. We were both products of the same war machine, drafted as 18 year olds, given basic training, then 6 months of OCS, and viola, suddenly a frightened, confused, naive 19 or 20 year old is a 'leader of men,' capable of leading men into a war that was a clusterf*%k from the get go. Our government turned loose 500 K 18-25 year olds, all brought up on john wayne movies, on a country the size of Florida. We were given no traininng in guerilla warfare, no guidelines on how to deal with civilian populations, and no rules of engagement beyond "kill anyone you suspect is VC." To salve your own conscience, people like you sit back and condemn Calley, when you have no idea of the lunacy that war provoked, and what we as 18-25 year olds had to deal with.

 
war crimes • Vietnam War • My Lai Massacre • William Calley

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